Meath Style Award: Your Best in Beauty finalists

Specsavers Style Awards shortlist. From left: DARERECA Gallagher and Karen Daly (DK Hair and Skin Care), Dunboyne.Photo: Gerry Shanahan-www.cyberimages.net01-05-2024 Photo by Gerry Shanahan

A trusted team delivering dreams for the biggest days

Dk Hair and Skincare, Dunboyne

Tell us about your business and team

Dk Hair and Skincare is a small business newly opened on 1st of March 2024, striving to bring all of its guests new and old the best quality treatments and products that the industry can offer. The new hair and beauty business based on The Green, Dunboybe has a team of girls working there that strive to be amazing at what they do with hair and beauty and they all work as one team, and have the best time doing what they love. Guests always seem to love the atmosphere in the salon and have posted about this in several online reviews.

Describe the best thing about your service

As a hair and beauty salon, owners Darereca O’Reilly and Karen Daly - and their team - get to celebrate everything with our guests from the happiness of a new baby arriving to weddings, communions, confirmations and birthdays. We always make sure each guest gets a treat when it's their special day. To be a part of these happy and sometimes sad times, we are delighted to be trusted with these very personal times in their lives.

What's the best business advice you've ever been given?

The best advice we have been given is to make sure our team has a happy work-life balance because for a long time we didn’t have that. Now, we are the business owners and can make sure that every member of our team has this opportunity.

What does the future hold for your business?

We will continue to grow and develop from strength to strength. On the 1st of March we were a team of four and now we have seven people in the team. So, for us that's such an amazing achievement to be able to grow our team to be able to offer our guests everything from blow-dries to microneedling and bring the latest treatments on the market to our clients.

Mima Szaboova (Visage Skincare), Photo by Gerry Shanahan

Making clients feel more beautiful and confident by enhancing their natural beauty

Visage, Trim

Tell us about your business and team

Visage started out originally in 2015 on Dublin’s Mary Street. Owner Mima Szaboova found the commute to Dublin City Centre took its toll on family life and so she decided with her husband to move the business to Trim, where they live. Visage quickly became well established in the town and subsequently moved to new premises on Market St to accommodate growth in business.

Mima is greatly appreciative of the good team she has around her including the very knowledgeable, skilled, kind and bubbly Sarah who joined after Visage reopened after Covid. Also, the very caring and helpful Kana who helps at reception, answering calls replying to messages and organising everything and beauty college student Clodagh who has been an amazing help since joining the team last year when Sarah and Kana were both on maternity leave. Karina who rents a nail table in the salon, is not a direct team member of Visage but part of the furniture, nonetheless.

Describe the best thing about your service

We offer a lot of services in our salon, but they all have one thing in common – they make clients feel more beautiful and more confident by enhancing their natural beauty. This Mimo says us a priority - to deliver results and meet client expectations.: “I believe the only way to do it is to offer and use high quality products, and constantly educate ourselves. We always try to bring newer and better treatments in the salon that can help our clients to feel special.”

What's the best business advice you've ever been given?

The best advice I have ever been given is to make sure that clients are happy and like to come back. Growing a business doesn't mean always looking for new clients, growing a business means making sure that each client is well taken care of. Once they are happy, they'll come back and bring more business!

What does the future hold for your business?

Our future is all about maintaining and growing standards we have set. My big dream is to pass my knowledge and the experience I have accumulated during the years to a younger generation.. I just want to enjoy it all, do the job as good as possible, and help younger girls/boys on their beauty journey.

Specsavers Style Awards shortlist. From left: Pippa Ryan (Couture Aesthetics), Navan.Photo: Gerry Shanahan-www.cyberimages.net01-05-2024 Photo by Gerry Shanahan

'Each client is treated as an individual and treatments are never one size fits all'

Couture Aesthetics, Navan

Tell us about your business and team

Couture Aesthetics was established in 2018 by proprietor Pippa Ryan when she saw a huge gap in the market when it came to client care in Advanced Facial Aesthetics and the lack of skilled services in the area. The business has grown year on year since and in December 2023 Couture eventually moved into its new flagship clinic in the centre of Navan at Barrack House, Abbey Road, Navan. Couture currently has three staff along with Pippa and there are high hopes to continue this growth and success into the near and distant future.

Describe the best thing about your service

It’s personal! Each client is treated as an individual and treatments are never one size fits all. In an area where I feel vulnerable people can be taken advantage of, I pride myself on not being a salesperson. I want Couture to be a comfortable, safe space, with emphasis on safe, ethical and above all highly skilled practice.

What's the best business advice you've ever been given?

Keep things simple and know your strengths and stick to them. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Always keep learning!

What does the future hold for your business?

I would like to grow Couture to a more nationally and internationally recognised brand. I have already regular clients travelling from as far away as Cork and Clare as well as repeat visiting clients from the US, Switzerland and Australia. As part of its Advanced Facial Aesthetic Academy, Couture has also had two students travel from the UK for masterclasses with Pippa and she plans to continue expanding this arm of the business.

- The 2024 Meath Style Awards in association with Specsavers take place in the Headfort Arms Hotel this Friday (June 7th)